Happy New Year. 2013 wasn’t a great year for many, with dysfunction in Washington and natural disasters in Colorado and elsewhere. So it’s probably best that Father Time is now passing the baton to the New Year’s baby in that classic cartoon tradition. Here’s a selection of New Year’s cartoons for your viewing pleasure.

The A&E Network suspended Phil Robertson, patriarch of the “Duck Dynasty” series, on Wednesday for anti-gay comments he made in an interview with GQ magazine. Editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich thinks Robertson would make a good mascot for the Winter Olympics in Russia, while Rick McKee thinks it’s a case of someone being silenced (with “duck tape”) for politically unpopular speech.

For more cartoons on Robertson’s suspension, check out the slideshow below.

A sign language interpreter who stood near several world leaders at Tuesday’s funeral service for Nelson Mandela turned out to be a fake. Those who know sign language said Thamsanqa Jantjie’s gestures were gibberish, and Jantjie later said he was hallucinating during the service. Editorial cartoonist Rick McKee says Jantjie wasn’t the only one not making any sense, while Joe Heller says the situation is nothing new for President Obama.

With Christmas just around the corner, it seems more Americans believe in Santa Claus (30 percent) than Congress (13 percent). So, can we expect any gifts from Washington this year? Editorial cartoonist John Darkow says no, casting the Republicans as Scrooge, saying “Bah humbug!” to poor Americans. Eric Allie gives a qualified yes, with the Democrats loading lots of toys and goodies on their sleigh … and putting it all on the national credit card.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Congress won’t get around to passing immigration reform this year. Editorial cartoonist Jim Morin says the Tea Party has fenced in the Republican Party on the issue, while Bill Schorr suggests immigration is just one of the issues Congress isn’t going to deliver this year.

Update: We’ve added several cartoons. Click through the slideshow to view them.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela died Thursday at the age of 95. Here are several editorial cartoons — from American and international cartoonists — honoring the universally beloved leader.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced this week that the company plans to use drones to deliver packages — in under 30 minutes — but said the technology is still several years away. Editorial cartoonist Joe Heller thinks there’s one jolly old man who isn’t so jolly about the prospect, while Milt Priggee wonders if the times are changing a little too fast.

Pope Francis criticized capitalistic economics last week, saying a populist philosophy guides him as pope. Editorial cartoonist Pat Bagley envisions the pope as a member of the Monkey Wrench Gang, while John Cole sees him among the Occupy protesters.